1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a scallop hanger setting apparatus, and, in particular, to a scallop hanger setting apparatus which is preferably used to hang young scallops onto a rope for culturing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of scallop hanger setting apparatuses have been proposed. For example, in the line hanging apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho-60-156337 and the scallop hanger setting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open No. Hei-3-24168 and No. Hei-3-32969, a scallop having its through-hole drilled in its one side-flange is set to each of a line that transversely pierces through a culturing rope, and then a knot is automatically formed at each end of the line. Thus, the scallop is prevented from coming off from the culturing rope.
In the hanger apparatus for culturing young scallops, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei-59-1836387, a scallop having its through-hole drilled in its one side-flange is set to each end of a line that transversely pierces through a culturing rope, and each end of the line is then heated so that it is deformed. The scallop is thus prevented from coming off from the culturing rope.
In the hanger apparatus for culturing young scallops, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei-58-149632, a scallop having its through-hole drilled in its one side-flange is set to each end of a line that transversely pierces through a culturing rope, and both ends of the line are then tied so that the line forms a loop. The scallop is thus prevented from coming off from the culturing rope.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho-58-75561 has proposed a method in which fixtures with projections pierce through a rope so that they are attached onto the rope at predetermined intervals along its direction of length. The fixtures are inserted through the holes of the scallop's shell side-flange to allow the scallop to be hung on the culturing rope.
In the scallop hanger setting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho-63-123326, young scallops are held in their upright position with their side-flanges down and a culturing rope is held onto the scallops' side-flanges to support the scallops with their axes aligned horizontally. In this setup, through holes are drilled through the side-flanges and the rope together using a drill that is guided by its drill guide to keep the drill from deflecting. A line is threaded through these through holes of the scallops and the culturing rope and both ends of the line are tied. The scallops are thus attached onto the culturing rope.
In the scallop side-flange piercing holding setting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei-2-262934, scallops are held in their upright position by a work table provided with a linear shallow groove. The table is also provided with a pair of pressure boards mounted vertically with each board on the opposing sides of the groove, each board having bristles like a brush, and a pair of bar members opened at a predetermined angle.
In the scallop hanger setting apparatus for culturing disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei-2-273135, the tip of the drill bit that has drilled through holes on a scallop and a culturing rope is guided using positioning means so that the drill is aligned with the axis of a threading guide that allows a line to be threaded through the through holes. The drill and the threading guide are withdrawn in an integral action and the threading guide passes through holes, allowing a line to be threaded.
The conventional scallop hanger setting apparatuses quoted above perform the scallop hanging operation that was once manually done by workers. The above-quoted apparatuses, however, are unable to perform the scallop hanging operation in a quick and efficient manner.
Scallops that are hung by their side-flanges using the conventional hanger apparatuses are likely to wobble under underwater streams, causing themselves to bump against each other, allowing themselves to consume their energy by moving around themselves, and consequently slowing their own growth.
The scallop hanger setting apparatuses quoted above involve line tying or heat deformation to keep scallops on the rope, and thus it is difficult to perform efficiently the scallop hanging operation.
The scallop hanger setting apparatuses quoted above are incapable of holding scallops in a reliable manner during the hanging operation if scallops are out of size. Thus, the attempt to make a line pierce completely through the scallop's side-flange cannot always be fully achieved.